Inking mechanism for duplicating machines



June 13, 1939.

'S. E. GREGORY INKING MECHANISM FOR DUPLICATING MACHINES Filed July 29, 1938 Patented June 13, 1939 UNITED STATES INKING MECHANISM FOR DUPLICATING MACHINES Sherlie E. Gregory, Aurora, 111., assignor to The Heyer Corporation, Chicago, IlL, a corporation of Illinois Application July 29,

5 Claims.

The inking mechanism of the present invention is designed in connection with the drum of a rotary duplicating machine of the type employing a stencil sheet secured to the periphery of the drum and inked from the rear.

In mechanism of this character, difiiculty has been experienced in. the past by reason of the leakage of ink which not only involves waste but tends to gum up and befoul the mechanism.

The present invention is designed to overcome these difficulties by providing an interior reservoir for the ink and by so constructing the inking drum that the ink will be closely retained within the interior of the drum except when inking of the pad upon the surface of the drum is required, which inking is readily effected by reversing the rotation of the drum, which causes the ink to flow from the inner reservoir to the interior of the drum surface, which, being perforated or foraniinous, permits the ink in the desired amount to pass through the drum and into the inking pad surrounding the surface thereof.

mrther objects and details will appear from a description of the invention in conjunction with the accompanying drawing, wherein:

Figure l is a perspective view of a rotary duplicating machine embodying the features of the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a sectional view of the drum taken on line 2 of Fig. 1, showing the drum at the beginof the inking operation;

Fig. 3 is a similar view showing the drum at the conclusion of the inking operation;

Fig. i is a similar view showing the position of the drum at the beginning of the paper feeding operation; and

Fig. 5 is a similar view showing the position of the drum at the conclusion of the paper feeding operation.

The inking drum of the present invention is mounted within the drum of a rotary duplicating machine it! of well known type, which feeds the .paper sheets from a trough or retainer H and compresses them against the surface of the stencil by means of a compression roller l2 in the usual manner.

The drum, which contains all of the special features of the present invention, comprises circular header plates I3 and a generally cylindrical wall M, which is provided with perforations or apertures throughout about two-thirds of its periphery. The opposite side of the wall is imperforate, and as shown comprises a flattened portion i6 united with the perforate cylindrical portion of the wall by obliquely extending imperforatc portions ll. The flattened wall I6 is provided with a hollow neck l8 closed by means of a cap H), which neck affords a mouth or opening forthe introduction of a supply of ink to the 1938, Serial No. 221,874

interior of the drum, which when introduced will be retained against discharge by the cap l9.

Within the drum is located a partition wall comprising a curved cylindrical section 20 concentric with the perforate cylindrical wall M of the drum, which partition at one end is inturned at 2| and terminates in a closing wall 22 standing at right angles to and rigidly connected with the flattened wall [6 of the drum.

The opposite end of the partition terminates in an obliquely disposed marginal section 23, the edge of which is spaced inwardly from the contiguous Wall ll so as to afford an aperture 24 for the passage of ink into the annular inking chamber 25 intermediate the perforate outer wall and cylindrical portion of the inner partition.

The drum is mounted upon a shaft 26 and rotated by a handle 21 in the usual manner. The drum provides a mounting for the usual inking pad 28, which is stretched around the perforate portion of the drum wall and secured in place in any suitable manner. The pad affords an inking surface for the stencil 29, which is secured in place in the usual manner.

The construction above described affords an inner reservoir for the ink, which with the drum in the proper position may flow outwardly beyond the open edge of the partition and into the annular space for the purpose of supplying ink through the apertures in the drum to the inner surface of the inking pad.

The ink is introduced into the interior of the drum while the drum stands in the position shown in Fig. 1, which brings the neck 18 uppermost, so that, with the parts thus adjusted, the ink will be poured directly into the interior of the ink reservoir without thereby coming into contact with any portion of the outer wall of the drum.

When it is desired to supply ink to the inking pad the drum is rotated in the clockwise direction to the position shown in Fig. 2. This causes the open end of the inner partition wall to become the leading edge during the rotation, so that, as the rotation continues, the ink will spill over the open edge of the partition and flow through the gap or aperture 2 3 and accumulate in the inking space below the partition, as indicated in Fig. 2. As the rotation continues in the clockwise direction, the ink will flow along the perforate wall of the drum and pass through the apertures therein and be supplied to the inner surface of the inking pad, which thus becomes impregnated with the required amount of ink to furnish a supply for a considerable period of time.

If desired, the drum can be rocked back and forth a number of times to thoroughly distribute the ink to all portions of the foraminous surface of the drum wall, and after the pad has become thoroughly impregnated the drum will be rotated in the anti-clockwise direction, which causes the closed end 22 of the partition to become the leading end during the rotation, so that thereafter the ink, within the annular inking space, will be drained back into the interior reservoir and there retained against further contact with the foraminous surface so long as the rotation of the drum in the anti-clockwise direction continues.

In the machine as shown, the paper feeding direction is anti-clockwise, so that during the paper feeding operations, as indicated in Figs. 4 and 5, the ink will be effectively retained out of contact with the perforate portion of the drum wall.

The arrangement above described is one which permits the drum to be readily charged with a.

sufficient supply of ink to last for a considerable period of time, and permits the operator, by a quick manipulation of the drum itself, to evenly distribute the required amount of ink to the interior of the inking pad. Thereafter no ink can escape into the perforate portion of the inking space during the regular paper feeding operation of the machine, so that there will be no waste of ink and no discharge upon the exterior of the machine which would tend to befoul the parts and interfere with the intended operations.

The device is extremely simple in construction and utilizes space on the interior of the drum which heretofore has subserved no useful purpose, so that the general structure of the machine is not complicated in any way.

Although the invention has been described with particularity as to detail, it will be understood that modifications in the form or shape of the respective parts may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention, and that the features herein described may be employed on various types of rotary duplicating machines irrespective of modifications in detail.

I claim:

1. In a duplicating machine, a rotary drum provided around a portion of its periphery with a perforated wall, the remainder of the wall being imperforate, an inking pad surrounding the perforated portion of the drum wall and an inner partition having one of its ends in closing relation with respect to the imperforate portion of the drum wall and having its other end in open relation with respect thereto and configured to afford an inner reservoir and an annular inking space adjacent to the perforated portion of the drum wall and adapted when the drum is rotated in one direction to discharge ink from the reservoir into the inking space and adapted when the drum is rotated in the opposite direction toretain the ink against entering the inking space.

2. In a duplicating machine, a rotary drum provided around a portion of its periphery with a perforated wall, the remainder of the wall being imperforate and provided with an aperture for the introduction of ink, an inking pad surrounding the perforated portion of thedrum wall and an inner partition concentric with the perforated portion of the outer wall and having one of its ends in closing relation with respect to the imperforate portion of the drum wall and having its other end in open relation with respect thereto and configured to afford an inner reservoir and an annular inking space adjacent to the perforated portion of the drum wall and adapted when the drum is rotated in one direction to discharge ink from the reservoir into the inking space and adapted when the drum is rotated in the opposite direction to retain the ink against entering the inking space.

3. In a duplicating machine, a rotary drum comprising end headers and a drum wall of cylindrical formation around a portion of its periphery and perforated therein and of flattened imperforate formation around the remainder of its periphery and having in said flattened portion an aperture for the introduction of ink, an inner partition wall extending between the headers and having a portion thereof lying in spaced concentric relation to the perforate portion of the outer wall, said partition wall terminating at one end in an outward extension connected with the imperforate portion of the drum wall and serving at one end to close the space between the outer wall and the partition, and the partition at its opposite end affording a gap or aperture between the partition wall and the imperforate portion of the outer drum wall, the parts being configured to provide an inner reservoir for the retention of ink and an outer annular inking space adapted to have ink supplied thereto from the reservoir when the drum is rotated in one direction and adapted to have the ink drained back into the reservoir and retained against flow into the inking space when the drum is rotated in the opposite direction.

4. In a duplicating machine, a rotary drum comprising end headers and a drum wall of cylindrical formation around a portion of its periphery and perforated therein and 0f flattened imperforate formation around the remainder of its periphery and having in said flattened portion an aperture for the introduction of ink, an inner partition wall extending between the headers and having a portion thereof lying in spaced concentric relation to the perforate portion of the outer wall, said partition wall terminating at one end in an outward extension connected with the imperforate portion of the drum wall and serving at one end to close the space between the outer wall and the partition, and the partition at its opposite end being inturned along its margin and affording a gap or aperture between the partition wall and the imperforate portion of the outer drum wall, the parts being configured to provide an inner reservoir for the retention of ink and an outer annular inking space adapted to have ink supplied thereto from the reservoir when the drum is rotated in one direction and adapted to have the ink drained back into the reservoir and retained against flow into the inking space when the drum is rotated in the opposite direction.

5. In a rotary dupiicating machine, a drum provided around a portion of its periphery with a perforate Wall, an inking pad surrounding the perforate portion of the drum Wall, and a reservoir for ink located wthin the drum in fixed relation thereto and in spaced relation to the wall to provide an annular inking chamber, the reservoir being provided with an aperture communicating with the inking chamber, and a closing wall fixedly located on one side of said aperture and extending between the reservoir and the drum wall in position to block on that side communication with the reservoir through the aperture thereby adapting the device to restore the ink into the reservoir when the drum is rotated in one direction and to discharge the ink from the reservoir and direct its flow upon the perforate portion of the drum wall when the drum is rotated in the opposite direction.

' SHERLIE E. GREGORY. 

